Oconee County, GA Politics

I saw another blog saying 9339 voters exist today in Oconee County. Surely several thousand of them are upset with the status quo corruption and development. Perhaps more people will decide with the children and the future in mind. The following is from Maddie Powell and her outfit, with a note from Fred Smith attached at the end. Hi everyone! Huge thanks to you, the kick-off now has a stellar Host Committee, which includes (in no particular order) Bob and Nancy Denson, Bertis and Katherine Downs, R.E.M., Ron Schwartz, Dick Bestwick, John Jeffreys, Becky Vaughn, Gwen O'Looney, Dr. David Jarrett, Doug and Mary McKillip, Jackie Howe, Ed Robinson, Rich and Janice Rusk, Ray and Nancy MacNair, Jim and Katie Bavis, Grady and Cynthia Martin, Marvin Nunnally and Charlie Maddox, and Evan and Erika Powell. This list is still growing, we have decided to use a mailing service instead of attempting to do it ourselves, which bought us a little bit of time to keep asking all of you to support ...

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Subject: Board of Commissioners Budget Hearing and Agenda Meeting Notes, 5/30/06 Sadly only a hand full of citizens came to the Budget Hearing but I suppose those who did not waste their time were the smart ones as what was presented was virtually incomprehensible. However there were 2 numbers that just jumped off the charts: a total "budget" of $43,261,408 representing a 9.13% increase over last year. It did not take long to see that what was presented as the "budget" was in fact grossly incomplete when a citizen asked how much is included for the new jail financing. The answer was nothing. Excuse was because the Board had not decided how to finance it and they expect to cover it with the fund balance. Later one of the Commissioners pointed out that the cost of acquiring right of way for the Mars Hill road widening also was not in the "budget". As it stands now the "bu...

The hot weather seemed to keep the crowds down at OCAF's Southworks this past weekend. I enjoyed seeing Bob Hay and Jolly Beggars (this pic was not taken there but at the effie's club follies show at the Georgia Theater earlier last week) but would have rather seen them outside on the stage instead of inside the old basketball gym. If they ever need a place to film Hoosiers II this Rocket Field gym would be the place. I liked all the art and always get a bone or rock from Oconee Minerals. This time it was a lapis ring for my son and a couple sapphires inside of some other rock. We built a steamroller thanks to Lowe's and listened to a bagpiper walking around the grounds. We walked up there once and biked a second time. It was truly amazing to see what a good job they did of cleaning up after themselves immediately afterward Sunday.

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Subject: Oconee County Stormwater Ordinance Following is the text of an e mail message from Lee Becker, Friends of Barber Creek with important information about the proposed stormwater ordinance. Lee provides an excellent summary of the important issues with the proposed ordinance. I urge all to read this e mail and the ordinance and then let the county staff know of your concerns. Lee is most concerned about the impact on Barber Creek but the impact of poor stormwater protection is not limited to Barber Creek.  Folks, this ordinance is far more important to the long term future of the county than any single rezone. This Board of Commissioners is driving development of the county and based on the direction given the county staff to "water this ordinance down" (no pun intended) it looks like they are willing to sacrifice water quality, an important part of what makes the county a good plac...